Graphic Packaging International has launched a state-of-the-art recycled cartonboard facility in Waco, Texas. With the new site, the company is strengthening its capacity for sustainable packaging and expanding its production base in North America.
The new plant is part of a long-term investment strategy to expand the recycled cartonboard network. According to Graphic Packaging, the site will increase production capacity, improve efficiency and enable further innovation for key markets such as food, beverage, household goods, foodservice and health & beauty. Mike Doss, President and CEO, said: „Our Waco facility produces the most efficient and highest quality recycled cartonboard in the world. Together with our state-of-the-art facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, we now have - by far - the strongest packaging platform in North America.“
New standards in quality and cycle management
The plant processes recovered materials into high-performance cardboard that is suitable for packaging with high recycling rates. The company points out that consumers increasingly expect packaging to be made from renewable and recycled materials. By 2024, Graphic Packaging says it will have replaced around one billion plastic packaging units worldwide with paper-based solutions.
The technology in Waco is designed to process a wide range of recycling streams. The location in the so-called Texas Triangle ensures long-term access to large quantities of waste paper from the surrounding metropolitan regions.
Infrastructure for future paper recycling
The ability to recycle up to 15 million paper cups per day and process them into new cardboard is particularly emphasised. With the further expansion of paper cup recycling, the plant will be able to absorb growing quantities of post-consumer fibres. An internal recycling system for the recovery and reuse of clean offcuts from the company's own processing plants is intended to reduce waste and increase efficiency.
Co-operations and qualification at the Texas location
The ramp-up of the plant is based on experience from existing plants and regional partnerships. Employees who were already working in Kalamazoo supported the start-up in Waco and trained new teams on site.
Source: Graphic Packaging
